


Cool & Caffeinated

by Silica



Category: Snotgirl (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - College/University, Drama & Romance, F/F, Secrets
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-06
Updated: 2017-08-06
Packaged: 2018-12-12 03:05:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,801
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11728194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Silica/pseuds/Silica
Summary: Lottie is a fashion major along with some of the other bloggers at the local university. She longs for her own fashion line and a life where she isn't always in the spotlight, but someone else is with her designs. One day, after a choice meeting with a gorgeous barista at the local coffee shop, things start to turn around for Lottie. Caroline is blissfully unaware of her own beauty, and Lottie thinks she can turn Caroline into a star of her own. Caroline has dark secrets of her own that threaten to manifest in dangerous ways the closer the two get-- but we all have secrets, don't we?





	Cool & Caffeinated

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic on AO3! I hope you like it! Snotgirl for life. <3
> 
> Disclaimer: Characters are not mine and belong to Bryan Lee O'Malley and Lesley Hung of Snotgirl!

“God, the lighting in here _sucks!_ ” Lottie tilted and turned her phone, tapping furiously to adjust the white balance and perfectly frame her cappuccino. “This is the first time they’ve gotten the little leaf right, I have to seize this moment…“

She grumbled internally as she struggled to frame the shot for social media. It was something of an art form. The perfect ratio of glossy tabletop to coffee mug, all in a square shot. The messy and effortless look of a calm, caffeinated start to a lazy Sunday.

 _The absence of other, less-polished and less-than-photo-ready mugs in the background…_ Lottie thought briefly about transferring her mug to another table to get just the right framing, the right look.

She wasn’t really that much of a cappuccino fan, but she needed variety on her feed, and she was willing to make the sacrifice from her normal coffee fare to please her fans.

“Hmm… You should just use more filters.” Misty “Cutegirl” Sutton tapped a quick photo of her double chocolate mocha, topped with whipped cream and sprinkles. She swiped a few times until she found _Jasmine_ , a dreamy light pink filter. “And stickers!” Adding heart stickers and sparkle emoji to the image, she grinned from ear to ear, pleased with her adorable creation.

“If you don’t grab it quick, the foam is going to burn and stick to the sides.” Megan “Normgirl” Foster twirled a hair around her manicured finger and took a long, audible sip of her iced latté through the straw. “That would make for quite an insta-worthy post, don’t you think?” Her voice was dripping with sarcasm, her words making a lilt at the end of the sentence as they formed out of the corner of her smirking mouth.

The two girls were her closest friends in her degree program for fashion, all three of them subjectively the best fashion bloggers in LA. They were all pursuing their degrees with varying levels of commitment. Why stress about school when you’re so busy being beautiful?

Lottie sniffed loudly, her frustrations making their way down her sinuses. A small _‘blip’_ sounded from her phone, a notification peeping in from the top of her tilted screen.

_Push notification. Pass._

As she moved her finger to swipe away the annoyance, she caught a glimpse of the text within the hovering bubble.

 _‘Sdayphotos uploaded a new photo!’_ Her heart skipped half a beat as she held onto each letter two seconds too long, not truly processing the words as she tapped the bubble out of habit. She regretted it instantly.

Sunny Day, her too-handsome-for-his-own-good ex-boyfriend, had posted a new behind-the-scenes shot from one of his most recent photo shoots. He was a photography major with an already quite dedicated following and numerous professional contacts. His rather dull feed was likely quite exciting for all the amateur photographers that followed his account to ‘gain insight on the professional photography industry’ but truthfully, Lottie had only ever followed him to keep an eye on his whereabouts. Of course, also to tag him in her own photos when necessary, to establish to followers her then enviable relationship.

Now? His feed was nothing more than a constant stream of misery and torture for Lottie. They had broken up, and she rarely saw him except at the occasional blogger party or shoot—which she got invited to less and less these days. _Are fashion bloggers out of style now?_ She wondered. _Maybe it’s time to start taking my degree seriously._ It was one of many sources of anxiety for her, the most immediate source being Sunny and his existence without her.

The wheel on her phone’s screen spun and spun, the image buffering for a moment before-- _‘blip!’_ –filling her screen.

_No._

This was a mistake.

_No way._

There’s no way that it could be true.

 _No_ frickin’ _way!!_

It was definitely true. The photo wasn’t just a behind-the-scenes shot. It was just a portrait. Casual pose. A clear day, palm trees lingering in the background. Sun catching in the corner of the shot, casting a flare across the slightly tanned, freckled round face of… another girl.

She felt an aching in her chest. This time, her heart decided that no amount of skipping beats would do. It fell straight down to the pit of her stomach, the momentum bringing upon the forces of gravity to the most delicate area of all—her sinuses. All at once, she felt a sneeze coming on with the force of a steam engine, an unstoppable calamity she could only remain spectator to.

“ _A-ACCCHOOOOO!!_ ” Lottie sneezed loudly, shaking her whole body and sending her phone flying out of her hands. Quickly, she fumbled to save it from a finished concrete death, knocking her shoulder against the table and creating a cappuccino mess in the process.

“Eeek!” Cutegirl jumped, grabbing her mocha just in time to save it.

Normgirl looked on unfazed. “Well, there goes that.” She took another long sip from her drink, which hadn’t left her hand. Lottie shot a glare in her direction, opening her mouth to respond with sarcasm.

“B-Bless you!” Cutegirl giggled to diffuse the tension. “Uhmm… looks like you should grab some paper towels?” She glanced around the shop, searching for remedies to the puddle-ccino.

Lottie stood up suddenly and began stomping away, flustered. “I don’t even like cappuccinos!” She shrieked. _This is all Sunny’s fault!_

She marched up to the register, scanning behind the bar for someone to help. A small, frazzled-looking teenager appeared in front of her, apologizing for something or another.

“I just need some paper towels.” Lottie huffed. “Um. And another drink.”

The boy handed her a roll of paper towels and raised his eyebrows. “What can I get started for you?”

Lottie tore off a sheet from the paper towels and lightly dabbed her nose, dare it threaten to erupt again. “Give me a half-caf cold brew with nonfat almond milk. One pump of lavender syrup. For Lottie. 

“I-uh, okay.” She could see the blood drain from his face. _He better not mess it up. My patience is very thin today._

He tossed a glance over his shoulder, and called out—“Caroline!”

“I’ve got it!” The voice called back, a flash of white skin and raven black hair passing behind him toward the fridge. _At least someone knows what she’s doing,_ Lottie thought.

She moved quickly to prepare her order, each item meticulously arranged in an assembly line— ice, coffee, milk, syrup. The whole process to make the drink looked like a fluid motion, as if she had made this drink a thousand times before. _Wow…_

Lottie’s breath caught in her throat as the barista called Caroline spun around to meet her.

_Hot person._

Lottie finally got to get a good look at the ethereal beauty of the woman in front of her. Caroline’s jet black hair was tossed messily to one side of her face, the layers falling down to her shoulders and framing her high cheekbones. Her skin was a pale white, almost porcelain—untouched by the sunny skies of Los Angeles. Even in a barista’s apron, she was stunning. Her waifish arms were covered in tiny beaded bracelets that accentuated her delicate wrists, and a single ring on the right hand that held up Lottie’s drink to her face.

She took a look at the name on the cup, making a sideways glance as she gingerly slid it forward on the bar. “Lottie?” She smiled, looking up at Lottie through dark, long lashes.

_VERY hot person._

“Umm, yes…” Lottie hesitantly grabbed her drink and eyed it warily. She took a long sip of the drink through the straw, her eyes moving from the lid up to Caroline. Lottie’s face flushed as she noticed Caroline watching her taste the drink, waiting to see if she liked it.

“Well? Does it taste alright?” Caroline’s voice was tinted with a slight accent from somewhere on the East Coast.

Lottie was pleasantly surprised that the drink was suited just to her taste. Somehow, baristas always found a way to mess up the ratio of the ingredients for her ideal coffee, but this was perfect.

“I-it’s really good! Nobody ever gets it quite right… Thank you.” She stammered in response. _Ugh, why am I being such a freak?_ She was really losing her cool. But how could she help it talking to someone like Caroline?

Caroline chuckled, the sound of it light and cheery. “Good! I order the same thing every day, so I’d hope I have it down by now.”

Lottie’s eyes widened. “No way! So do I!” _It’s like she’s another version of me,_ She mused, trying to take in her impossible existence. _A much cooler one._

“Really? What a fun coincidence! I guess you’ll just have to keep coming back so I can make more for you, huh?” She smiled genuinely and tilted her head to the side, her eyes sparkling.

Lottie chuckled and found herself unable to speak. The sheer overwhelming nature of Caroline’s coolness and charm left her petrified. She had to get out of there. Instead of thinking of something witty to say in response, she only nodded, and hurriedly made her way back to her seat.

In the time it took her to get another drink, Normgirl had already wiped off the spilled cappuccino from earlier. She sighed at Lottie, who was now absentmindedly taking small sips from her coffee.

“Took you long enough!” Normgirl complained. “I cleaned up after you because you took your sweet time chatting with the barista.”

“Uh-huh…” Lottie’s words trailed off, the words of her friends flowing in one ear and out the other. She couldn’t focus on the rest of her coffee meeting with Normgirl and Cutegirl. For the rest of the time she was there, she only tried her hardest not to glance back to the bar…

When they finally left, she caved as they made their way to the entrance, scanning the room and searching for Caroline. But she was already gone.

 _Who was she…?_ Lottie thought to herself on the walk home. Someone so charming and confident, so effortlessly cool and collected. Her dismay about Sunny’s photo had swirled to the back of her mind.

The only thing that now occupied her thoughts was the sweet, summery smile of the barista named Caroline. _The perfect girl that makes the perfect coffee…_

She was definitely going to make an effort to get coffee from that shop more often. She tried to reason with herself that it was because of her drink, but gave up on that idea quite quickly. It was completely, absolutely because of Caroline.

 _What a cool girl,_ She thought.

Cool Girl Caroline. It had a nice ring to it. 

 

She couldn’t wait to see her again.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter. I definitely want to keep writing the story of Lottie and Caroline, and see how their relationship progresses. 
> 
> Feel free to leave comments to tell me how you liked it!
> 
> Ciao~  
> -Silica


End file.
